St. Landry democrat., 1887-03-26
NUMBER LII.

still afr of the summer night. Traffic
has ceased and only the sound of an oc-
casiona{ carriage may be heard the red
lights $rom its lamps flaming upward
and sometimes casting a Iurid shadow
upon the bed where Millicent lies sleep
iHg.
The @isl had appeared a little tired. q
little rnnnyee for the Inst day or two, and
Mira. Brand had decided upon her refus-
ing any Invitation for this one night at
least. She should go to bed early, 80
would Mrs Brand-the whole household.
indeed, should retire at an abnormally
early hoIlr, and Grant. who was ac-
| quainted with all these circumstances
! and arrangements, was forbidden to call
| after six o'clock.
| Boom - boom - bOOm-gOps the biz
| clock somewhere. Milllcenr, rs though
/ disturbed by it, turns uneasily i'll her bed.
! and, as growing consciousness gains on
| her, sjghs deeply. Alas there are many
reasons Why size, the petted debutante OF
the year, should sigh profoundly. Her
body. indeed. is well nhis seems rather q
grievance than OtherWise( but her heart
Is sick and sore within her Oh. the
horror Ot having to marry Grant while
I her affection is ali concentrated ON
another, Aud yet, to lose her inherit
. ance 70 a girl trained as she has been
AS huE!re,tS of others are trained
such consideration is paramount To
be cast from her throne 10 be discarded
by het world, to sink from comparative
supremacy ~ sure mediocrty In that
lies the sting.
If only the matter could be altered.
and arranged for her on lines according.
to her own liking. She had thought OF
.lnnpn I!tl,r bDI. I'D
10 her that Boyle was not altogether 50
dear 10 her as he Shoubl be. But Mrs.
Brand mad pooh poohed all such hints as
being mere girliSh folly and had told her
that III time she would find her cousin
was far above the average of the young
men she met, and that they had good
reason T., believe a defunct title, that had
once belonged to a branch of their fam
lily. would be revived il his favor.
How quiet the night has grown! Even
in the heart of this surging London. It
seems rs though time OF rest can reign;
the stir, the roll of the odd carriage or
two only enhances the extreme deadness
Of the calm MilliCent turns wearily upon
her pillow, and tries with passionate
anxiety to forget her woes in Sleep In
vain she courts the wished for slumber;
in vain she seeks to kill her cruel
tuouS-AtS. kHIIIi lt6S EtlidlH with ueT,
growing ever more persistent as wake
fulness grows upon her. Impatient, and
angry with herself. and finding the night
insuiferably warm, she half pushes the
bedclothes from her, with the intention
OF rising and t1inging wide her window,
when slight noise in the adjoining room
arrests her attention.
ls ii a IOotsteps or one Of those strange
sounds that break the stiffness of the.
night:-cnostly sounds that we all know.
coming from nowhere apparently, yet
loud enough to make the pulses beat and
suggest II covering of the head with the
friendly hedclothes.
Niiiicent, wide awake now but uncer-
tain, listens intently. She has indeed
drawn back her foot into the shelter of
the bed but otherwise has shown no
fear. Is il steps 1t has stopped now
After all, it might have been auntie
coming for her cologne water. Or one OF
the maids fo1 the neuralgia cure that lies
on the mantelpiece in her boudoir. In
spite of these consolatory reflections.
however, she cannot conceal from her
self that size is growing frightened, and
is recrcttiug with ever increasing earn
estness the fact that she is sleeping
alone. in Il corridor cut off from the rest
of the honse.
Pshaw' after all, 1t was nothfng-a~
silly scare. Silence once more refgns su-
preme Not even the indomitable mouse
is to be heard. No scratchings, no.
5 lueaks anywhere, Not even t.
Good heavens' what was thats That
horrible stealing sound in the room be
yond. Ii is coming nearer and. nearer!
OF that some horrible inner sense as
slres her, though now she can hear moth
ing. Oh, how the minutes drag' The,
knowledge that even if she screamed
until life left her she could not be heard
by any one member of the household
adds ten thousand terrors to her already
miserable situation.
All, there's! There 1t Is again-thaS
stealthy footstep; more distinct now
more reaf All in one moment every
shuddering recollection of people muir
aered, every CHASTITY detail that she has
ever read or heard, recurs to her, and
makes the blood freeze within her veins
Soon, perhaps, that blood will be frozen
eternal1y.
sAnd now a maddening regret orcurs to
her. The bell! why had she not thought
of that sooner? TO cross the room, to
pull violently at it-even If ner effort
failed to bring one of the servants a.
most likely thing, as all the servants
sleep at the very top of the house)-at
least she might have alarmed this mid
night assassin, and sent him flying from
the scene of his unlawful labors Bus
now! Is it too late ycts
Almost paralyzed by fear as she is, she
rises cautiously upon her elbow, and is
Just about to make a rush for The beN.~
when